John McEnroe hopes Emma Raducanu can find a way to perform at Wimbledon amidst huge public attention
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
Published 21/06/2022 at 18:50 GMT
All eyes will be on Emma Raducanu as she makes her second appearance at Wimbledon, and John McEnroe hopes the 19-year-old can find a way to perform at the Grand Slam. Raducanu has been training this week as she looks to recover from a side injury which forced her withdrawal from the Nottingham Open earlier this month.
Emma Raducanu
Image credit: Getty Images
John McEnroe hopes that Emma Raducanu can find a way to perform at Wimbledon amid huge public attention.
Raducanu trained at Wimbledon on Monday as she continues her recovery from a side injury which forced her withdrawal from the Nottingham Open earlier this month.
The 19-year-old has failed to reach the heights many expected of her after stunning the world with her US Open title win in 2021, not making it past the second round of the Australian and French Opens.
She has also gone through a number of coaches after splitting with Andrew Richardson, and arrived at the French Open without a coach, electing instead to travel to Paris with only a hitting partner.
“She’s trying to grow up in front of the world and in front of people,” McEnroe told the Guardian.
“And that can be difficult. It [the 2021 US Open triumph] happened so quickly. I don’t know if anyone could have possibly anticipated this would happen.
“This is the future of our game. And people are checking to see what part Emma’s going to have in that.
“And so there’s a high interest level, obviously. So I think it’d be good obviously for her and her family and the sport that she finds something as soon as possible that she feels more relaxed and able to do her thing.”
Turning his attention to fellow Brit Andy Murray, who was back to approaching his best in the run to the final of the Stuttgart Open, winning four straight-set matches in five days – including over top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas – McEnroe admits he is amazed at the level the Scot is currently playing at despite his metal hip.
“I know it had to be tough for him in a lot of ways to watch these guys continue to amass records where he basically couldn’t play at all,” McEnroe said.
“I’m not a doctor. I’m amazed that he’s moving as well as he is. If you’ve got a metal hip, that would tell me that you wouldn’t move as well, that you would be stiffer, that you couldn’t react as quickly. I just don’t see how it’s even possible.”
McEnroe also noted the effect the decision not to award ranking points at Wimbledon could have on Novak Djokovic.
"This guy has been up against it," said McEnroe.
"Some of it, he made this decision and he’s going to have to live with that. And he seems hellbent on that decision. But to get deported out of Australia, to go to Wimbledon and then you work and then you get no points [if] you win it again and you drop spots in the rankings. It just seems crazy.”
- - -
Watch daily highlights from Wimbledon at 10pm on Eurosport 2 and discovery+ from June 27, as well as the two singles finals live on July 9 and 10.
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement